1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an amusement ride which simulates the motion of three-dimensionally projected video images.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are various prior art patents which relate to amusement ride simulators, some as old as the U.S. Pat. No. 892,070 patent to Murphy which issued in 1908. Others, including the likes of U.S. Pat. No. 1,844,852 to Harvey; U.S. Pat. No. 1,789,680 to Gwinnett; U.S. Pat. No. 2,861,806 to Disney; U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,256 to Trumbull; U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,140 to Fogerty, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,162 to Trumbull et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,849 to Hollingsworth, III et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,878 to Wuu and U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,352 to Denne, having been developed over the years. None of the prior patents set forth an amusement ride which projects 3-D videos in combination with a motion base having up to six degrees of freedom of movement, although 3-D technology is known, such as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,860 to Nobel. Most simulator amusement rides are known to use frames of optically recorded images on film and not fields of electronically encoded video data on a disc. Film formats are not suitable for numerous repeat 3-D projections because the picture quality degenerates and they require rewinding or film looping.
Also, the prior art has not recognized the need to design amusement rides of this type in a way to be able to physically fit into existing buildings located in premier tourist-traffic locations.